ICv2 sat down with Konami Digital Entertainment VP Yumi Hoashi at San Diego Comic-Con, where she filled us in on the company’s Yu-Gi-Oh! plans for the rest of 2009.  In Part 1, Hoashi provides details on upcoming releases.  In Part 2, Hoashi filled us in on Konami’s marketing and organized play for Yu-Gi-Oh!:

What can you tell us about the 2009 Yu-Gi-Oh! collectible tins?

Wave 1 of our 2009 collectible tins come out August 18 and have two advance packs of Ancient Prophecy, five other packs, a secret rare variant card, and a pack of Yu-Gi-Oh! branded sleeves.   There are two tin designs, and the sleeves are color-coordinated to match the colors of the tins.  The tins have deck partitions, as well, so you can hold decks in your tin, making them a little more useful than just an ordinary, empty tin.


The Wave 2 tins will go on sale November 3, and they’ll be open to every channel of distribution.

 

Will there be exclusive holiday tins this year?

Yes, we’ll have four different designs, one each for Wal-Mart (featuring Crow), Target (Yusei Fudo), Toys ‘R’ Us (Leo and Luna), and the hobby channel (Jack Atlas).  It’s the first time that we’re introducing a hobby-exclusive tin.

What about your upcoming booster releases for the rest of 2009?

The core boosters for Ancient Prophecy will be released on September 1, but we’ll be including the advance packs in the Wave 1 tins, which will be on sale August 18.  The Ancient Prophecy Special Edition pack includes three booster packs and one of two super-rare variant cards.

 

There’s also Retro Pack 2, which includes three packs and another variant card.  It’s a retail-channel product that’s also being offered through our tournament stores.  It’s a double-wide booster that’s available August 4.

 

Overdrive is our last booster release of the year, and that’s launching November 17.

 

Anything else?

On October 27, we’ll be launching the Warrior’s Strike Structure Deck, the second of our Structure Decks for the year.  This Structure Deck will include three foil cards instead of the one we normally do: one ultra-rare and two super-rare cards.

 

These are a lot of products between now and the end of the year.  Is that a similar flow to how it was when Upper Deck was distributing the product?

The only difference is that we included one more tin -- the hobby-exclusive, but otherwise it’s pretty much the same.

 

For more on the promotions and organized play for Yu-Gi-Oh! for the rest of 2009, please see Part II.